Trinity
by dilly2
Summary: *Chapter 5 is now up* 3 years after the meteor crisis, Marlene is kidnapped by three men and a woman in navy blue suits. Cloud and the others must go on one last adventure to save Barret's daughter.
1. Prologue

_I'm not dead,_ I screamed, but no one heard. I couldn't move. Not even to open my eyes. Couldn't speak. I imagined that if I thought hard enough, someone would hear me. I imagined that someone would find me in the rubble of was once my office and save me from this frightening darkness.

It seemed that I spent an eternity there, helpless and alone, but it could have been minutes. The rest seemed to take no more than an instant, but it might have lasted forever. I no longer felt the heavy weight on my body, but I still could not move.

I heard a voice.

Then, two.

Too indistinct to understand, but they were there. Somewhere in the haze of my mind. I strained to hear them. To make sense of who they were, where they were. Finally, the fog cleared a little and I heard one speak.

_Wake up._ The voice was familiar, but I couldn't remember why.

_I can't. My eyes won't open,_ I answered.

_Wake UP._

I tried to pull myself out of this dream-like state. I thought I wouldn't make it, but then I felt a sort of push from behind.

My eyes opened to more darkness. But this darkness was real, not like the imagined darkness of my mind.

_Down the hall. You'll find a door._

I didn't question the voice. I followed it's instructions. I waved my hands blindly in front of me until they found a hard surface, then a knob.

My eyes did not remember light. They stung furiously. I ignored the pain and left the darkness behind me.

Fresh air. The world had not ended. No meteor hung heavy in the sky. My eyes were finally adjusting.

The world had never looked so beautiful.


	2. Wasps

Marlene watched the wasps crawl slowly over their fallen hive. It was the first morning in three weeks that it did not rain. The wind had blown the hive from its position on the overhanging roof of her home down to where it now lay, on it's back on the concrete. It was large, about the size of both of her fists put together. When it had fallen, half of the wasps had flown away. Of the half that remained, most stayed with the fallen hive, trying to make due with what they had. A few huddled where the hive had once been. It was too late into autumn for them to build another hive, but they were trying.

Marlene clutched at her mother's pendant. She was afraid of the tiny insects, but they were so interesting to watch. The pendant comforted her. She felt a shadow fall over her.

"Whatcha doin'?" asked Yuffie. She had moved to Coral recently after some trouble at home, though she visited Wufei whenever she had the chance.

"Watching," Marlene whispered, afraid to distract the wasps from their intent work.

"Watching... what." Yuffie leaned down a bit and peered at the patch of ground that Marlene was watching. "Is it a rock? Or, no, it's a--" Yuffie straightened suddenly and screamed, grabbing Marlene by the collar and dragging her away from the hive. When they were a safe distance away, Yuffie began to scream again. "What did you think you were doing?! Are you crazy?"

"It's cold," Marlene said simply, "Wasps don't move much when it's cold. Anyway, they were too busy to bother with me."

"Barret!" Yuffie cried as she walked to the back door, carefully avoiding the wasps, "You're daughters a freakin' psycho!" The screen door slammed shut. Marlene was alone again with the wasps. She was edging back towards them when her father called her into the house.

She gave the a last look toward the wasps and ran inside.

"They're all coming to visit? Wow! How cool!" Yuffie was saying when Marlene entered. "Yup," said Barret, "The whole friggin' lot of 'em."

"Who?" asked Marlene. Barret smiled warmly at his daughter and patted the chair next to him for her to sit down. "That's why I called you in here. Cloud and the gang are comin' to visit us. Even that Turk that controled that walking ball of fluff and the cat. What was his name?"

"Reeve," said Marlene. She had heard the story of their conquest a thousand times from everyone that participated, except of course...

"Vincent. Will Vincent be coming?" asked Yuffie.

Barret snorted, "I wouldn't get my hopes up. They don't make no mention of it in the letter, but knowin' him, I doubt it. I don't think anyone's even seen him since we all split."

Yuffie sighed irritably, "Oh well."

"Why are they coming?" asked Marlene.

"Well, come Tuesday it'll be three years since we defeated Sephiroth."

"That long?" said Yuffie, "Seems like yesterday. I actually kinda miss fighting all the time. At least it was something to do."

"We're safe now," Barret put a hand on Marlene's shoulder, "That's all that matters to me."

"I'm not old enough to be thinkin' that way yet!" said Yuffie with a laugh.

"Ain't smart enough, ya mean."

"You wanna fight old timer?" Yuffie jumped up and began to playfully punch at Barret's arm.

Marlene snuck away from them as they continued to play at arguing. Something felt wrong. She clutched her mother's pendant, but she still didn't feel safe. Something was going to go wrong. It was just a matter of time. 


	3. Translucent Eyes

Barret lifted his daughter on his shoulders to the ceiling to scrub away a grease stain. Yuffie looked on from below.

"You know, that wasn't really my fault. You _scared_ me!"

"So you threw your friggin' sausage up into the air?"

"Guys," said Marlene calmly, "If you keep fighting we won't get the house clean before they get here."

Barret laughed. "Can't argue with you when you're right. Yuffie, why don't you go back to your mopping and leave us be?"

Yuffie stuck her tongue out and stomped off to the living room where she had left her mop and bucket.

"That woman!" Barret growled.

"She likes you, daddy."

"What you talkin' 'bout girl?" He lowered her back down to the floor.

"You like her too." She said with a smile.

"Look, why don't you get to cleanin' the table and I'll get this stove."

Marlene nodded and did as she was told. The bad feeling she had wouldn't go away, no matter how much she tried to shake it. It was an old, familiar feeling. It had stayed with her throughout much of the fight with Shinra, but had ended just after Shinra Headquarters fell. Shinra was gone, so what was the connection to it'd destruction and now? Midgar was being rebuilt, but it had been being rebuilt for the past three years. She took a deep breath and focused on the cool mahogany surface of the table.

***

"We're here!" Tifa called as she knocked vigorously. Barret rushed towards the door.

"Daddy, your apron!"

The big man struggled to release himself from the clutches of his apron, but ended up ripping it off instead and throwing it aside.

"Ohhh! You ruined it!" cried Yuffie.

"Shaddup!" Barret skidded to a stop at the door and steadied himself. He opened the door as gracefully as his bulky arm could manage.

"Hiya, Barret!" Tifa jumped up and gave him a huge hug before skipping merrily down the main hall into the living room. Cloud, Red and Reeve followed her, each exchanging hellos with Barret, and then with Yuffie.

"Cid's out in the Highwind with telling the crew what to do before they find their hotels," Tifa explained. As she spoke, she turned and saw Marlene sitting quietly on the couch. "Oh! Is that little Marlene? You've gotten so _big_. You'll be all grown up before you know it!" The red-eyed woman sat with a thump at Marlene's side. Red came over to the girl and sniffed her, then purred loudly as she scratched behind his ears.

"How's life been treating that spiky-haired head of yours, Cloud?"

"Not bad," Cloud said, with a twitch of his lip that was his version of a smile.

Barret looked toward Tifa, "You two married yet?"

Tifa blushed and smiled, letting Cloud answer. "Engaged for this spring."

"I better as hell be invited," said Barret.

"Of course you are!" said Tifa.

Red pulled gingerly away from Marlene's hand and laid down at her feet. "North Coral is looking very nice. It's amazing what you have all done to the place in the last few years."

"Oh, we're pretty proud of it..."

Marlene tuned out the conversation, knowing her father would be talking for quite a while on the subject that Red had brought up. Her bad feeling had been getting progressively worse. Something was drawing her, but repelling her at the same time. Something nearby. Something just outside of their front door. She stood up from the couch suddenly, nearly tripping over Red. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

"Um, daddy? Can I go out and play for a while? I want to go see the Highwind." The words came out of her mouth before she realized that she was going to say them.

"I'm sure Cid'll give you a hard time, but go ahead. I don't see why not."

"Thank you daddy!" She gave her father a tight hug and left quickly.

When she opened the door, the intensity of the feeling nearly knocked her off of her feet. She grasped her pendant tight before stepping outside and closing the door behind her. The Highwind was in sight, just outside of the town of North Coral. A group of spectators had formed and were gawking at it. Most of them had seen it before, but that was before it was such a legend. The pushed through the crowd and ran up the stairs that led into the ship. She ran blindly through it, all the way to the bridge.

Cid's jaw dropped, causing his cigarette to fall to the floor. One of the crew members in the small group that he was having a meeting with giggled until Cid's glare put a stop to it.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing in here, kid?"

"M-my daddy said I could."

"I don't give a flying fuck what your _daddy_ said. I don't even know your damn daddy."

"Yes you do," she said calmly, "I'm Marlene Wallace."

The scruffy pilot's eyes widened with recognition. "Marlene! Hell, girl, I didn't recognize ya! Get over here."

She came towards him, walking a slowly. The bad feeling was more than just a feeling now, it was a knowledge. But of what, she didn't know. When she reached him, Cid stood up and sat her down on his chair.

"You just stay here, I gotta finish up with these losers. All right, let's see. Dana, you sweep up the chocobo barn, I don't want that place to stink when everyone--"

He went on with his meeting, giving everyone their different responsibilities. Marlene looked around at them. A few scruffy teenagers and a equally scruffy man, three particularly large men, a young, but tough looking, woman and... another. He caught her attention when she looked at him and didn't let it go. His blond hair hung messily around his narrow jaw. Large goggles covered the rest of his face, but he seemed familiar somehow. He seemed to notice her staring at him and he turned to face her. She wanted to look away, to act as though she hadn't been staring at him, but she couldn't. He smiled slightly and lowered his goggles. His eyes glowed a fierce blue. But there was something else, something behind them. She saw it for a moment, and then it was gone.

Her scream echoed through the Highwind. And then, there was darkness. 


	4. Taken

The world slowly came back into focus. Cid and the blue-eyed man were sitting over her with worried expressions. She pushed herself away from the strange man toward Cid.

"It's okay, Marlene. I had Dana go after your dad. Don't be afraid. Chris is just trying to help."

The blue-eyed man nodded. His goggles were back over his eyes, but the image of them were burned into her retinas.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

The man smiled. "I'm Chris." He put his hand on her arm but she jerked it away. His hands were cold. His touch frightened her. She grasped for her pendant but it wasn't there.

"Where did it go?" she asked as she frantically felt around on her chest for the necklace.

"You mean this?" Chris held up the pendant. His smile was strange. She snatched it from him careful not to touch his hand.

The heavy footsteps of her father thudded into the room and stopped just above her. He kneeled by her side, pushing Chris out of the way, and took her hand.

"Are you all right baby?" Without waiting for an answer, he looked up at Cid, "What did you do to my little girl?!"

The pilot held his hands up in defense, "I didn't do a goddamn thing. I was just giving the crew instructions and she screamed like crazy and fell over. I swear!"

"He's telling the truth daddy. I'm fine. I just wanna go home now." She reached up toward her father and he took her in his arms.

"I'm puttin' you to bed, darlin'. You just relax."

***

Barret put Marlene in her room and tucked her into bed.

"You rest now and I'll bring you some pancakes in the morning with blueberries on them. How's that?"

She smiled brightly and nodded. "I will, daddy."

"Good girl," he pushed her bangs out of her face and kissed her forehead, then left her to the evening's darkness.

The blue eyed man's name wasn't Chris. She knew that. She was possitive of it, but she didn't have the faintest idea why she was sure of it. Her pendant felt cold on her chest, like his hand had. She turned on her side and pulled the covers over her head. She didn't want to think anymore about anything ever. She wished for her childhood again, but it had left her behind long ago.

She took a deep breath and forced her muscles to relax. All she had was a bad feeling. Maybe she had just imagined it. She began to drift into sleep.

The window rattled. Marlene's eyes snapped open. She listened for a long time, staring at the curtained window above her bed.

Nothing.

She let herself doze again, and again the widow rattled.

_It's just the wind._ She assured herself. _I'm getting too paranoid._

The window slid open. Wind swirled into the room. Before she could move, a man was upon her. He grabbed her wrists in one huge hand and covered her mouth with the other. She struggled, but she was no match for the man three times her size. Another, smaller man slipped through the window. He was dressed in a navy blue suit and a black ski mask covered his face. He took a piece of stationary from her little desk and wrote quickly on it, then nodded to the man holding her. He pushed her out of the window to another large man. The new man held her gently against him, and whispered in her ear, "It's all right. We won't hurt you."

But being hurt was the last of her worries.

***

Barret swung the door of his little girl's room wide open.

"Pancakes!" he said merrily. "Come out to the kitchen everyone's eating and having a good--."

The bed was empty but for a single sheet of her pink and lavender paper. He set her plate aside shakily. He read the note several times before his mind was able to comprehend the meaning behind the words:

"Your daughter is on Mount Nibelheim. If you do not come and get her, she will die." 


	5. Old Friends and Old Enemies

"It could have been anyone Barret, please try to calm down," said Tifa soothingly.

"I don't want to _calm down_. That freak took my daughter, I know he did!"

"I live in Nibelheim too, Barret. Does that make me a suspect?"

"He didn't _live_ in Nibelheim," said Barret, "He was in a friggin' coffin! Anyhow, you're still _here_. Who else would have done something like this."

"Anyone," said Red thoughtfully. "You forget, Barret, not all of our enemies died when Sephiroth did."

Barret fell down on the couch and sunk his face into his hands. "I don't want my little girl to be hurt s'all. She been through too much as it is. I thought she was safe now."

Yuffie sat down next to him and put her arm around his wide shoulders. "She'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. It says in the letter that she won't be hurt if we go and find her. I say, we go and find her. Cid's already at the Highwind getting ready for take--"

Cid came crashing into the living room, his eyes full of rage. "The airship. She's gone. Fucking bastards must've taken her too. GodDAMMIT!" He slammed his fist into the wall, cracking it.

"How the hell are we going to get to Nibelheim now?" Barret said frantically.

"Calm down, big fella," said Yuffie, squeezing his shoulders a bit.

"You have other means of transportation, don't you, Cid?"

"I've got the Big Bronco, but that's in Rocketown."

"We can take a boat from Junon to Nibelheim. That's the quickest way," said Cloud with a nod. "Let's get our things together. It's time for one last adventure."

***

As soon as the Highwind left the ground, the big man put Marlene down. The three that had abducted and another who was piloting the ship, the young woman who Cid had called Dana, were on the bridge. They took off their ski masks. The one that had first come into her room had skin the color of mud, bald and menacing. The second, smaller man, who had written the note had messy red hair tied into a haphazard knot behind his head and scars under each eye. The third had long black hair and a tattooed dot between and above his narrow eyes.

She sat on the floor where the third man had set her and hugged her knees into her chest. She stayed that way the entire night, refusing to allow herself sleep.

When the sun rose, the black haired man kneeled in front of her. "I'm Tseng." He nodded towards the red haired man, "That's Reno, the other guy's Rude and the lady over there is Elena. We aren't going to hurt you."

"You're a very special girl, you know Marlene? The boss has been looking for someone for a very long time, and you're that someone."

"My daddy will come and get you," she said with all of the resolve she could muster.

Reno chuckled. "I'm sure he will eventually. He just doesn't know where to look for you."

"But he thinks he does," said Elena laughing.

"Quiet," said Tseng, standing, "We don't want to upset her more than she already is."

"Why not?" said Reno with a smirk. He bent over to look at her. "She's not so tough. We could take her on." He playfully punched her in the side. 

She looked up at him through her bangs. "Take me home."

"Sorry, toots," said Reno, "No can do. The boss needs you."

"Who's that?"

"I think I can introduce myself," said a new, but familiar voice. The blue eyed man, his goggles gone, strutted onto the bridge. His white coat rustled in the wind.

She gasped and struggled to push herself further away from him, but Reno took hold of her shoulder and kept her in place.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

He smiled strangely, a smile that didn't seem accustomed his face. "I am many people. This person that you see." He made a gesture to his body, "This is Rufus. He's not coherent at the moment, so I'm in charge until he feels a little better."

"I-I know you," Marlene looked around frantically, "I know all of you. You were the Turks. Rufus was in charge of Shinra. D-daddy told me."

"Bing bing bing! Tell her what she's won!" Reno laughed. Tseng gave him a harsh look but said nothing.

"Yes," Rufus said, slowly walking towards her. He bent over and took hold of her chin, forcing her to stand, "You know us. You'll know us even better soon enough." He let go over her and she stumbled back. Tseng steadied her. "Elena, how far to Midgar?"

"Only a few minutes. Wow, this thing is _fast_. We should have stolen it a long time ago."

"Marlene, my dear," Rufus said slowly, "You're going to take part in a little experiment I started a few years ago, before I was in this body. Soon, you will never be alone again. You don't like being alone do you?"

Marlene looked at him, unsure of how to answer, afraid of what he meant. She backed away from him, against Tseng.

"Why, Tseng, I think you have a new little friend. Soon, she's going to be a very powerful friend to have." He stepped forward and ran his hand through her hair, "Soon, this little brain of yours is going to be expanded beyond anything you could ever imagine." He smiled, then turned towards Reno, "Go check on the other."

"Yes sir."

"Your father has found the note we left him by now. They are on their way to Nibelheim to save you." He rubbed his the palms of his hands together and chuckled to himself, "By the time they realize that it's only a distraction, it will be too late."

She felt tears of fear stinging her eyes, but Tseng but a comforting hand on her shoulder. Somehow, she trusted him, but she doubted that he would or _could_ stop what was going to happen. Whatever that was. 


End file.
